Corporal discharged over assault at club

A military intelligence worker who threw a glass at an assailant has been granted a discharge without conviction on the grounds he could lose his security clearance.

Antonius Jos Van Lit (23), of Taupo, was at a Queenstown nightclub on January 7 when other patrons noticed him filming them on the dance floor.After they challenged him, a scuffle started, and as the defendant fled he turned and threw the glass.

The New Zealand Army corporal, who appeared before Judge Mark Callaghan in the Queenstown District Court on Monday, applied for the discharge after admitting a charge of assaulting Colin Early.

Defence counsel Louise Denton said Van Lit was trying to leave the bar after the complainant hit him in the face with a "heavy blow". The defendant threw the glass — which missed — in a "spur of the moment" decision.

Although on a leave of absence from his job, a conviction would compromise his army career as he could lose the high security clearance he required for his intelligence work, she said. Were he forced to leave the military and look for work in the private security industry, an assault conviction could jeopardise that career option as well.

Judge Callaghan was satisfied the consequences of a conviction outweighed the severity of the charge, and granted the discharge.